RealGM

Since our second "second round pick" had a thread up I figured I'd make one for our first second round pick, a locally produced 6'4 pass first PG from Michigan Darius Morris.

from a article written by Emplay of hoopsworld in May.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=19885

"I'm a true point guard," said Morris to HOOPSWORLD.

That's what Darius believes sets him apart in this draft.

"A lot of the other point guards in the draft are kind of tweeners or point guard/shooting guard or shooting guard trying to be a point guard on the next level," said Morris. "I've been a point guard my whole life. I was really able to display that on the college level this year and was able to effectively lead my team."

Speaking of displaying himself on the college level, here's a link to his player profile at Michigan including a 2010-2011 4 minute highlight package. Unfortunately it's a Vimeo file so I can't directly link it in this post.

http://www.umhoops.com/players/darius-morris/

EDIT: Newly posted youtube vid of Darius' highlights, thx Nevetslc

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqvfEFGquAU&hd=1[/youtube]

I was hoping they took Charles Jenkins, but i like this pick. He lacks defense, but under MB / Kobe and the guys, I think he'll improve in that department quickly.

From all the guards that were available during the 41st pick (Lee / Selby / Jenkins / Moore / Thomas) he's the player thats most NBA ready RIGHT NOW.

He was projected to go late first / early second but it was a blessing he fell to us @ 41.

MB does like to give rookies a chance and give them playing time. He played Boobie Gibson 60 games in Gibsons rookie season around 17 min/gm and even put him in the starting line up for 16 games that year. He gave Shannon Brown playing time in his 1st season and started him 5 games.

Im happy to see he gives PT to rookies because we can actually see if these guys are worth keeping (Morris / Goudelock), instead of giving them garbage time like Phil likes to do.

Im also happy that were gonna see more PT from Ebanks and Caracter (if LA brings them back)
Ebanks seems to have good potential, and Caracter seems to have a good low post game and could be a decent backup for LA.

As a die hard Celtics fan and current Michigan student, it pained me to see Morris taken by you guys. I've seen pretty much every game he's played, so here's a quick scouting report from someone who's seen a lot of him:

Weaknesses:
-Not much of a left hand, whether it be finishing around the basket or driving left, he's going to avoid using his left hand at all costs.
-Poor spot up shooter. He isn't a guy you're going to want waiting in the corner for an open shot. He's shown some improvement, and perhaps he gets to a point where this isn't an issue, but as of right now it's his biggest weakness.
-He is pretty much useless off the ball. Again, I can't stress this enough. His freshmen year Manny Harris was dominating the ball and Morris contributed very little. Last year, with Manny gone, Morris was able to run the offense and be very effective.
-Tends to over dribble some times. As pretty much the only guy on Michigan's roster who can create for others, this wasn't really a problem, and not necessarily his fault. In the NBA i'd be surprised if that kept happening.
-Not the most athletic guy.

Strengths:
-Despite not using his left hand around the basket, he does a fantastic job of finishing with contact and in traffic. He makes a bunch of right handed layups where using his left hand would have been way simpler, but always seems to get the job done regardless.
-Very effective creating offense for himself and others.
-Does a good job of running fast breaks.
-Very crafty. He doesn't always blow by his guy, but uses a series of hesitations and ball fakes to get his shot off. Reminds me a bit of Paul Pierce in that regard.
-Great pull up jumper. Often will drive, do a half spin, and hit a turnaround fade away jumper from the free throw line/elbow range. He rarely will pull up off the dribble though, not entirely sure just how effective he is at that.
-He's got some flash to his game, not sure whether this is really a strength, but he's a guy who's fun to watch. Makes some really, really impressive passes.
-Size. He's a big point guard who's going to overpower a lot of smaller guys, even in the NBA. It makes that turnaround jumper of his really, really dangerous. Defensively, it should help him a good deal too.
-He's smart. Very efficient player, doesn't take bad shots, makes the most of his possessions...which is impressive for a guy who was asked to do so much at Michigan.



Hopefully he makes it in the league, by all accounts he's a good kid who will put in the time and effort to become a quality NBA player. Hope you guys give him a real shot.

repole wrote:
Hopefully he makes it in the league, by all accounts he's a good kid who will put in the time and effort to become a quality NBA player. Hope you guys give him a real shot.

Thanks for the great write up and first hand account of his play last season at Michigan.

He should fit right in with our 2nd unit as a creator. Blake needs to start if we are going to get any value out of him for the contract we gave him since its clear he's not aggressive enough to lead our 2nd unit.

Morris/Fisher/Barnes/LO/Gasol should be a very good unit to run and space with 3s like the old bench mob.

id rather have Goldelock at backup sg who can shoot the three rather than fisher

Steal of the draft.

repole wrote:As a die hard Celtics fan and current Michigan student, it pained me to see Morris taken by you guys. I've seen pretty much every game he's played, so here's a quick scouting report from someone who's seen a lot of him:

Weaknesses:
-Not much of a left hand, whether it be finishing around the basket or driving left, he's going to avoid using his left hand at all costs.
-Poor spot up shooter. He isn't a guy you're going to want waiting in the corner for an open shot. He's shown some improvement, and perhaps he gets to a point where this isn't an issue, but as of right now it's his biggest weakness.
-He is pretty much useless off the ball. Again, I can't stress this enough. His freshmen year Manny Harris was dominating the ball and Morris contributed very little. Last year, with Manny gone, Morris was able to run the offense and be very effective.
-Tends to over dribble some times. As pretty much the only guy on Michigan's roster who can create for others, this wasn't really a problem, and not necessarily his fault. In the NBA i'd be surprised if that kept happening.
-Not the most athletic guy.

Strengths:
-Despite not using his left hand around the basket, he does a fantastic job of finishing with contact and in traffic. He makes a bunch of right handed layups where using his left hand would have been way simpler, but always seems to get the job done regardless.
-Very effective creating offense for himself and others.
-Does a good job of running fast breaks.
-Very crafty. He doesn't always blow by his guy, but uses a series of hesitations and ball fakes to get his shot off. Reminds me a bit of Paul Pierce in that regard.
-Great pull up jumper. Often will drive, do a half spin, and hit a turnaround fade away jumper from the free throw line/elbow range. He rarely will pull up off the dribble though, not entirely sure just how effective he is at that.
-He's got some flash to his game, not sure whether this is really a strength, but he's a guy who's fun to watch. Makes some really, really impressive passes.
-Size. He's a big point guard who's going to overpower a lot of smaller guys, even in the NBA. It makes that turnaround jumper of his really, really dangerous. Defensively, it should help him a good deal too.
-He's smart. Very efficient player, doesn't take bad shots, makes the most of his possessions...which is impressive for a guy who was asked to do so much at Michigan.



Hopefully he makes it in the league, by all accounts he's a good kid who will put in the time and effort to become a quality NBA player. Hope you guys give him a real shot.

I had a write up in the other thread, but you nailed it here. His jumper isn't as bad as people say it is. Off the dribble from mid range he is actually very solid. Like I said in the other thread, this kid is going to be the PG of the future for this team, no doubt in my mind. Complete steal!

Jeff23 wrote:Steal of the draft.

Hope you are right, despite the not-very-promissing UMhoops + Repole's info. He's young, and perhaps Fish can teach him some patience.

Jeff23 wrote:Steal of the draft.

I doubt that much, but for a team that has god aweful options at PG he doesn't look too bad for a 41st pick.

If we played him for 30MPG he would be considered like the Landry Fields of this draft

Looks promising. Always good to have unselfish players on your team.

Thanks for the write up, repole. I hope he makes the team.

Looking forward to watch this kid play. I'm hoping for a second round steal like a Manu or Rashard type steal.

Darius Morris (Michigan) Highlights - The Newest Laker

Compiled footage of Darius Morris from Michigan. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Morris 41st in the 2011 NBA Draft; one of the newest additions to the Purple & Gold.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqvfEFGquAU&hd=1[/youtube]

nevetslc wrote:Darius Morris (Michigan) Highlights - The Newest Laker

Compiled footage of Darius Morris from Michigan. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Morris 41st in the 2011 NBA Draft; one of the newest additions to the Purple & Gold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqvfEFGquAU&hd=1

added to the OP, thx for the link

how is his defense? i've only heard good things about his offense

nevetslc wrote:Darius Morris (Michigan) Highlights - The Newest Laker

Compiled footage of Darius Morris from Michigan. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Morris 41st in the 2011 NBA Draft; one of the newest additions to the Purple & Gold.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqvfEFGquAU&hd=1[/youtube]

Man this kid will be great with our bigs. Some of those one hand passes were ridiculous.

Well he has a long way to go. He will not start, and might not get a lo of mintures. With no summer league with the lock out looming. He will be behind the curve. Looks like a good prospect, but I wish the Lakers had moved up and taken someone who would have been a game changer. At lease I hope Mike Brown will play the younger players more minutes and give the vets more time off.

He's the floor general/quarterback we've needed for a long time.

Steve Blake has got to be "Papa Bear Quarterback" until the pup learns to catch and shoot off of double teams.

That's all he needs (catch and shoot skills).

It'll be a year before he's ready to start really stealing minutes from guys (Blake and Fisher).